Gender balance (both sexes being represented by at least 40%) in academia has long been a goal. In this study, we present a model for the inert changes in the proportion of female full professors and associate professors at four research universities in Norway and stipulate future scenarios. Data from 1977 to 2019 were fitted to a sigmoid model. The results indicate that for all full professors, gender balance will be reached sometimes in the mid-2030s. Gender balance among all associate professors is already achieved. However, when the data is split into fields of research and development (fields of R&D), pronounced differences were seen. The results indicate that we will not achieve gender balance among full professors within humanities and the arts, while the proportion of female professors within Natural sciences and Engineering and technology cannot be properly modeled. Contrary, gender balance among associate professors will be achieved within all fields of R&D apart from engineering and technology, while natural sciences cannot be modeled properly. Essentially this model exercise illustrates what will happen with the gender balance in academia if no interventions are made. If so, we might not achieve gender balance in all fields of science.
Female representation among students and graduates in higher education is growing internationally. This is a promising trend for achieving gender balance in top positions in academia. But there is still a long way to go, as women accounted for 26 per cent in top positions at European higher education institutions in 2018. In this article, we examine the influence of international recruitment of researchers on the gender balance—or the lack of gender balance—in Norwegian academia. We draw on data from the Norwegian Register of Research personnel, linked with population statistics from Statistics Norway. These data show that 38 per cent of the researchers at Norwegian higher education institutions in 2018 were born abroad. The share of foreign full professors has increased from 16 per cent in 2001 to 27 per cent in 2018, while for postdocs there has been an increase from 31 to 69 per cent. In terms of overall gender composition, a higher percentage of the foreign-born researchers are male compared with the native Norwegians. The incidence of international recruitment differs significantly across academic fields and is particularly prevalent in engineering. This is also the field where the gender balance is most skewed generally. Taking these variables into account, we conclude that international migration is not among the factors contributing to the gender imbalance in Norwegian academia. In fact, international recruitment has contributed positively to the gender balance in Norway in the majority of the fields analysed.
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